Course in French with English subtitles --
Ce cours introduit à la vie et à la pensée du réformateur Jean Calvin (1509-1564) ainsi qu’à son influence sur le monde moderne et contemporain. La démarche proposée se veut critique, il ne s’agit ni de canoniser ni de condamner Calvin, mais de comprendre sa pensée avec toute la distance requise et d’en analyser les enjeux.
Au cours de la première semaine, nous explorerons les principales étapes de la vie de Calvin. Les semaines 2 et 3 seront consacrées à l’étude de sa pensée théologique et de son éthique. Enfin, lors des semaines 4 et 5, nous nous interrogerons sur la diffusion du calvinisme dans le monde et la pertinence actuelle de la pensée de Calvin.
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This course is an introduction to the life and thought of the reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) and to his influence on the modern and contemporary world. The approach we develop is critical: we intend neither to canonize nor to condemn Calvin or his thought. Our goal, rather, is to avoid any rash evaluation in order to understand his thought and analyze the issues at stake in it.
During five weeks, we will explore together the life and work of the Reformer. During the first week, we will study the main aspects of Calvin’s life. Weeks 2 and 3 will focus on his theology and his ethics. During the last two weeks (weeks 4 and 5), we will ponder how Calvinism became a worldwide phenomenon and ask ourselves what kind of relevance Calvin’s thought may still have today.

From the lesson

Lire Calvin aujourd'hui - Reading Calvin today

<p>Dans ce cinquième et dernier module, diverses personnalités ont été invitées à s’exprimer. Elles ont été choisies en fonction de leur compétence et de leur provenance. Dans le cadre imparti, carte blanche leur est laissée d’exprimer un avis, parfois surprenant, sur l’héritage de Calvin aujourd’hui. Seront notamment proposées une séquence sur la légende noire de Calvin (n° 2), sur le programme du Monument international de la Réformation de Genève (n° 3), sur l’empreinte qui demeure, ou non, de Calvin à Genève (n° 4, par le prof. Selderhuis, l’un des plus grands connaisseurs de Calvin aujourd’hui), ou sur le calvinisme dans diverses aires culturelles (n° 5 à 8). Trois bilans personnels seront également proposés (n° 9 à 11), ainsi qu’une conclusion générale (n° 12).Notre dernière semaine a pour objectif à la fois de conclure le parcours proposé et d’ouvrir vers d’autres horizons culturels et géographiques. A la fin du cours, l’étudiant-e devrait mesurer la diversité de l’héritage calvinien.</p><p> In this fifth and last module, various personalities have been invited to speak. They were chosen in relation to their expertise and personal background. Each was invited to speak freely, to express an opinion on the relevance of Calvin's legacy today. Among the topics under discussion are the longstanding view of Calvin as a dictator, the Wall of the Reformation in Geneva, the impact of Calvin on today's city of Geneva (with special guest prof. Herman Selderhuis, a world-renowned expert on Calvin) and on various areas of culture. The main objective of this module, in conclusion of the entire course and as a way to open things up towards other cultural and geographical horizons, is to convey a sense of both the variety of opinions which may be expressed on Calvin and the breadth of Calvin's legacy.</p>

Calvin is not well-liked. Unlike Luther, who is seen as an agreeable, jovial, upbeat kind of fellow, Calvin is seen as solitary, dry, harsh, intransigent.

To these images, one might oppose historical fact. Luther's reputation is undoubtedly tarnished by his role in the repression of the peasantry in the German Peasants' War.

Though there is no excuse for terrible incidents like the Servetus Affair, there is no such black mark on Calvin's record.

Nonetheless, it is a fact that Calvin is not beloved.

It is no coincidence that Stefan Zweig, in order to indirectly attack nazism and Hitler, chose Calvin against Castellio as his ostensible topic.

Even Max Weber, who, ever mindful of maintaining the sociologist's neutrality, refused to to give personal opinions about those whose ideas he was weighing,

could not help but take offense at Calvinist dogma, accusing Calvin (and echoing Milton's famous phrase) of replacing the fatherly God of the Gospel with a mean-spirited God.

As I hope this course has shown to some extent, this negative image of Calvin is in fact at odds with the real Calvin, that is, the Calvin one discovers by carefully reading his work.

Granted, Calvin says little about himself and his own experiences.

Calvin's human side can be difficult to perceive -- it's not always easy to see the man behind the text.

Yet, upon studying him carefully, one is compelled to view him as endearing.

Endearing in his willingness to detach himself from the interpretations of the Gospel that preceded him, to rediscover the Gospel in its simplicity.

From this point of view, he was very modern, particularly in his constant concern with clarity, directness, simplicity.

The language Calvin employs is elegant. Writing in French about things previously reserved for Latin speakers, he gives the modern reader a sense of
proximity; he speaks to us in a manner very similar to our contemporaries.

Thus there are in Calvin's thought aspects that are interesting, important, profound.

This is why, despite having read him extensively, Calvin still moves me today.

If there is one thing that stands out, from my point of view, it is Calvin as prophet.

Calvin believed, and explicitly claimed, that he was speaking on God's behalf.

He acknowledged that, like all prophets, he was nothing without the Word speaking through him.

And like all prophets, he admitted that his tendency to be harsh, even ruthless, was a necessary expression of his message of rebuke and redress.

In his private prayers, however, he never ceased interceding in favor of the people to whom he preached, pleading with God to manifest God's goodness and compassion towards them.

The problem is that we have access only to the words of denunciation, of righteous fervor -- and nothing of Calvin's private prayers.

What we do know is this: as the man responsible for settling all sorts of minor disputes (domestic, neighborly, etc.) in the Consistory, Calvin always exhibited leniency and clemency
rather than sternness.

One particularly fascinating aspect of Calvin is his attempt to resolve the seemingly irresolvable:

universality and particularity;

radicality and practicability;

the Gospel as justice and the Gospel as love;

a systematic doctrine (that is, which attempts to account for every aspect of faith) and the admission that some of God's secrets are off-limits to us, that everything man
represents to himself regarding God can be no more than a metaphor -- never the truth itself.

Thus Calvin's work must be undertaken anew by each generation. Each generation must ask itself: what is the meaning of the Gospel?

For those in the Calvinist tradition, it is not enough to merely apply the themes of Calvin's theology to new realities.

Rather, their task will be to retrace Calvin's steps from the very beginning, that is, to go back to the Gospel as the starting point and ask once again, taking into account all that we know today
about man (knowledge that goes far beyond what was known in the 16th century):
how does Scripture speak to man?

How can humanism and Christianity be framed, not as mutually incompatible, but as ideals that that call out to each other, ideals that each, in their own way, express man's search for
truth -- a truth we must always find ahead of us, not in the past?

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